Email marketing RESULTS don’t get better until YOU get better
The other day, social media guru Chris Brogan said, “email marketing isn’t dead…. sh*tty email marketing is dead.” This blunt and honest statement about email marketing is an absolute truth.
Email marketing and email newsletters are far from dead. Even Twitter and RSS junkies HAVE to check email and are willing to add their name to an email list, so long as the content is useful and the reader looks forward to getting the email when it comes in.
There are very select email newsletters I feel this way about. To be honest, even the emails I appreciate may oftentimes be saved for “later” reading, which usually mean I won’t be reading it.
The main issues people have with email:
Problem: There’s not enough time in the day. When does your subscriber have free time to read every email you send?
Solution: Create a Week in Review email newsletter. Maybe your reader can’t read an email every day, but can appreciate a wrap up at the end of the week.
In addition, make your email newsletters quick and concise. Get to the point and avoid fluff. When your subscriber gets your email, they’ll take the length into consideration when deciding if today is your day to get an email read and clicked through.
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Problem: Oftentimes an email promotion can be overwhelming in terms of deciphering what the content is and what the promotion is.
Mastering the art of the advertorial (which I wrote about yesterday) is a key element to keeping readers engaged and not turned off by a promotional email.
In terms of editorial emails, don’t distract the reader from the content by surrounding it with ads. This can be an instant turn off. Instead, construct an email template that is easy to read, offers white space, and strategically places the related promotional product in the right nav of your email.
Remember, a straight line leads to a sale way better than a scribble.
Problem: With an abundance of email newsletters, often times your emails can go by the wayside simply because the reader has been busy, overloaded and forgot all about how great and helpful your content is.
Solution: Re-introduce yourself. Look at your email analytics and find out who hasn’t read your email in a certain time span, say, six months.
Send an email to these subscribers, reminding them who you are, nudging them, and telling them about your favorite recent articles.
Some companies take this opportunity to let the user know that they’ll be removed from the list if they don’t click on a link in the email. This proves effective in cleaning your list and improving your Email Performance Rate.
In any case, waving your hands around in the air every once in a while adds a personal touch and reminds them that you’re not a robot.
How about you? What have you done to improve your email newsletters lately?
